Afrojunkie

My husband and I would like to travel to Mali this year, but we are looking for a reliable operator that will effectively deal with groups and FIT travellers. We have the contact details for several companies, but can't reach many of them. Any recommendations?

fuzzylogic

Hi - stopped a moment to consider what FIT was!! an acronym? - but now I see you just mean "fit"!! haha. Yes, have visited Mali though it was a long time ago. What an amazing place. I travelled overland from Algeria and we visited Timbuktu, Mopti, Djenne, and, of course, the Bandiagara escarpment.

It was a budget overland trip - three days across the desert from the algerian border to Timbuktu, then we all got on a barge carrying salt and spent 10 days on the Niger River on the way to Mopti.

This was part of a much longer trip so the unexpected 10 days on a boat (it was supposed to take 3) was time that could be spent and made up later.

I have to say that that journey was like nothing I had done before, or have done since. It was an experience I shall never, ever, forget.

It would not have been a part of every long distance trip run by the company I travelled with. Right place, right time sort of serendipity.

I'm not sure if the company I went with then run shorter more rigid trips now. If they do, check them out:

www.guerba.co.uk

else there's explore worldwide, intrepid, peregrine, exodus.

Google it - and do go!!

Afrojunkie

Thanks Fuzzy
That's exactly what I was expecting... BTW, FIT is an acronym: foreign independent travellers - travel industry jargon. On the one hand, I would love the idea of going with the flow if a journey takes 2 weeks when it should take a week. But we'll be pressed for time and will need to be arriving and departing on fixed dates. We are actually wanting to lead tours to Mali and are looking for local operators to handle all the ground arrangements. But you've given me an idea - perhaps it would be best to check it out first with a company like Guerba or Explore. Thanks!!!

Boris2

Did you make it to Mali? Did you find a tour operator. We are planning a trip for Nov. 2009. Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks!

bushwoman2002

I lived in Mali for just over a year and though I could not possibly recommend any reliable tour operators; I am happy to answer questions, so have at it. Mali is a fantastic country....HIghly recommend it.

ekscrunchy

I visited Mali in the late 1990s with a small group tour. The trip went exclusively to Mali and we spent about 18 days which included the Mopti-Tombouctou river trip with camping at night on the river banks. I extended by stay by a few night in Bamako at the end. I adored Mali and thought that the people I encountered were some of the warmest and most congenial I have met on my travels.

I will be happy to give you any information based on my experiences. The operator I used has changed her focus and now concentrates on humanitarian efforts. She does give a contact for Malian tours on her website:


http://www.turtletours.com/